Memphis' Lawson brothers could be next elite basketball family

HAMPTON — On an early Sunday morning in Hampton, the next family of major college basketball was well represented at the Boo Williams SportsPlex.

Keelon and Dedra Lawson sat in the bleachers watching sons K.J. and Dedric, two of the standouts of Memphis-based Team Penny, at Nike's annual Elite Youth Basketball League tour stop on the Peninsula.

Both are long-limbed, athletic forwards rated among the top prospects in their respective recruiting classes.

K.J. Lawson is 6-foot-7 and 200 pounds of advancing motion. The junior already committed to Memphis, a decision that he said is solid. Dedric Lawson is a 6-9, 205-pound sophomore considered a top-10 recruit in the Class of 2016. He isn't close to choosing a school, but thinks it would be "pretty cool" to play with his brother.

Back home, younger brother Chandler Lawson is a 6-6, 160-pound seventh-grader rated by some as the best prospect in his class nationally. His dad says that Chandler is more advanced than either older brother at the same age.

The Lawsons' potential prompts mention with the Zellers — Cody, Tyler and Luke — and the Plumlees — Marshall, Mason and Miles.

"When people compare us to guys who already made it to the league and they talk about our family being the next one where guys make it to the league, it's very cool," Dedric Lawson said.

K.J. may have stopped growing, but Keelon Lawson said that doctors told him that Dedric might top out at 6-11 and that Chandler could grow another 3-5 inches.

"We're trying to keep our kids focused on the big picture," said Keelon Lawson, a longtime coach in Memphis who tutored his sons the past couple of years at Hamilton High. "Go to school, get an education. Basketball can be a path, but there's life after basketball."

Plenty of basketball-related decisions were made. More lie ahead. K.J. and Dedric are leaving Memphis and will attend Arlington Country Day School, a private school in Jacksonville, Fla., with a roster dotted with Division I talent and that plays a national schedule.

"They need another voice," Keelon Lawson said. "I've coached them since grade school. Another system and playing in a program that challenges you every day and every game will help them when they get to college, because that's what they'll get at that level. Memphis is good basketball, but not at the level they'll see at Arlington."

The Lawsons hear other voices with Team Penny, coached by program leader and former NBA players Anfernee "Penny" Hardaway and Todd Day.

"That's very important, having guys who can tell you what you need to do to get where you need to be because they're already been there," K.J. Lawson said. "They can tell you their experiences and how you don't want to do certain things or how they messed up, and they keep you going the right way and keep you in a positive mindset."

Hardaway, whose team is stocked with Division I prospects, said his message to elite players is simple, and he thinks that it resonates because of his background.

"I just try to tell them to play basketball the right way," he said. "What I mean by that is, on the offensive end, share the ball. Defensively, help each other. This is a game where on the defensive end, nobody can really guard one-on-one. You need help from your teammates. On the offensive end, it can't be just one guy. It takes a team to win on both ends of the floor."

Arlington Country Day coach Rex Morgan has a similar goal for the Lawsons, and his other top-shelf players.

"Getting them to be good teammates," he said. "Both of his sons are good teammates. You can see that by watching them. Obviously, they're very good players or they wouldn't be coming. But our message is, if you're not going to share the ball and you're not going to help on defense, you're not going to play. It's as simple as that."

Another big decision will involve Keelon Lawson. Memphis coach Josh Pastner has an opening on his staff, and he and Lawson have talked about it. Lawson certainly would provide a recruiting advantage for his sons, but he said Sunday that nothing has been decided.

He figured that Pastner would let him know in June, before the July travel recruiting period. Lawson would like the opportunity, but said if it doesn't work out with Pastner, he is likely to go to Jacksonville and assist Morgan.

Regardless, Memphis figures to be among Dedric Lawson's finalists, because of K.J.'s presence and the relationship Pastner has with the family. K.J., however, isn't trying to sell his younger brother.

"I let him be," K.J. said. "I don't recruit him. I let him go where he wants to go and see what he feels, because what might be good for me is not good for him."

K.J. is the more aggressive offensive player of the two, constantly forcing the issue, driving and trying to draw contact.

Dedric lets the game come to him and is more of a finesse player and jump shooter, with the length and wingspan to rebound and disrupt shots in the paint. In popular hoops vocabulary, he is a "stretch four" — a player with power forward size, but skills and shooting range that either "stretch" the position or "stretch" the defense.

"We're really not competitive with each other," K.J. Lawson said. "When we work out, we push each other harder. But when we get on the court it's really to kill the other team."

Both K.J. and Dedric eagerly anticipate the move to Jacksonville and ACD. They look forward to the challenge and the new surroundings. They've become minor celebrities in Memphis, and they hope that a new town will permit them a little extra breathing room.

"Our parents do a good job of keeping us humble and keeping us polite and letting us just play and be a kid," Dedric said. Of the attention and scrutiny, he said, "Sometimes it gets annoying, but I guess it just comes with the life that I live."